Triangular Employment Accreditation, Explained
Triangular employment accreditation costs NZ$4,060 and covers businesses that employ migrant workers but place them with a controlling third party — labour hire, recruitment and contracting firms. There is no limit on worker numbers. Applicants need 12 months of placement history in New Zealand and must keep at least 15% of placed staff as New Zealand citizens or residents.
Quick Facts
| Fee | NZ$4,060 |
| Who needs it | Businesses placing migrants with a controlling third party while remaining the named employer |
| Worker limit | None |
| First term | 12 months |
| Renewal term | 12 months — not the 24 months standard and high volume get |
| Extra requirement 1 | At least 12 months of history placing staff in New Zealand |
| Extra requirement 2 | At least 15% of placed staff must be NZ citizens or residents guaranteed 30+ hours a week |
| Reconsideration if declined | NZ$250 |
| Job Check | Still required, at NZ$735 |
What "triangular employment" means
Three parties, not two.
- The accredited business — the legal employer. It holds the employment agreement, pays the wages, and is named on the migrant's visa.
- The migrant worker — employed by that business.
- The controlling third party — the host business where the work is actually done, and which directs the day-to-day work.
That is the triangle. The employer of record is not the business giving the instructions, and New Zealand immigration policy treats that separation as a distinct risk category with its own accreditation type and its own fee.
Labour hire firms, recruitment agencies that employ rather than place, and contracting businesses that supply staffed crews all typically sit here. The test is the structure, not the industry.
Why it costs NZ$4,060
More than five times standard accreditation, and the reason is accountability. When the employer is not the business supervising the work, ordinary enforcement gets harder: the party that controls conditions on site is not the party INZ accredited, and the worker can end up with nobody obviously responsible for their working conditions.
INZ's response is a higher fee, extra entry requirements, a continuing domestic workforce floor, and a shorter renewal cycle.
| Standard | High volume | Triangular | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee | NZ$775 | NZ$1,280 | NZ$4,060 |
| Migrant limit | 5 | 6 or more | None |
| Renewal term | 24 months | 24 months | 12 months |
| Placement history required | — | — | 12 months |
| Domestic workforce floor | — | — | 15% |
The two extra requirements
12 months of placement history in New Zealand
A triangular applicant must have at least 12 months of history placing staff in New Zealand. A newly incorporated labour hire company cannot be accredited on day one, however well funded it is.
This is the only accreditation type with a trading-history requirement. Standard and high volume applicants can rely on a credible two-year business plan instead.
At least 15% of placed staff must be New Zealand citizens or residents
At least 15% of placed staff must be New Zealand citizens or residents guaranteed 30 or more hours a week. Both halves matter — the 15% is measured against people guaranteed real hours, not against anyone on the books.
This is a continuing obligation, not a one-off entry test. A labour hire book that shifts towards migrant placements during the year can drift out of compliance without anyone deciding to do anything wrong.
The threshold used to be higher. For labour hire construction roles it was cut from 35% to 15% in January 2025, as part of the package announced on 17 December 2024. That was a substantial loosening, and it is a good example of why an undated page about New Zealand immigration rules is worth very little.
Everything else still applies
Triangular accreditation is an addition to the general accreditation regime, not a substitute for it. A triangular applicant must still:
- Meet one of four financial viability tests — no loss before depreciation and tax in the last two years; positive cash flow in each of the last six months; sufficient capital or external investment; or a credible two-year business plan
- Avoid all four disqualifiers — either stand-down list, a permanent ban on hiring migrants, bankruptcy or a No Asset Procedure
- Commit to settlement information, settlement support, and not passing recruitment costs on to workers
Full detail: employer accreditation requirements and employer obligations under accreditation.
And accreditation is still only step one. A Job Check at NZ$735 is required for each role before any migrant can apply, with the same advertising rules, the same 90-day lodgement window and the same six-month validity as anyone else's. See the Job Check explained.
What this means if you are the migrant
Triangular arrangements are common in construction, horticulture support services, aged care, cleaning, logistics and seasonal industries — and they carry three specific consequences for the worker.
1. Your employer is the labour hire company, not the site you work at. The name on your employment agreement and on your visa is the accredited business. The company whose uniform you wear may have no immigration relationship with you at all.
2. Your visa conditions follow the employer, not the placement. An AEWV holder may work only in the job, for the employer, and at the location stated on their visa. Being moved between host businesses by your employer is not the same as changing employer — but if the job, employer or location on your visa no longer matches reality, that needs sorting out through a variation of conditions, a job change application or a new visa. See AEWV work conditions and restrictions.
3. If the accreditation fails, your position is tied to the labour hire company. A triangular employer that loses accreditation takes its Job Checks and unused job tokens with it, however healthy the host business is. See what happens when an employer loses accreditation.
One thing does not change: minimum employment standards apply to you regardless, and Employment New Zealand, not INZ, is the authority on them. Wages, holiday pay, breaks, a written employment agreement and accurate wage and time records are owed to you by your legal employer — the accredited labour hire business — no matter who is directing your work on site. See New Zealand employment rights for migrant workers.
The renewal disadvantage
Standard and high volume accreditation renew for 24 months. Triangular employment renews for 12 months.
At NZ$4,060 a year against NZ$775 every two years, a triangular employer pays roughly ten times as much per year in accreditation fees as a standard employer — before a single Job Check. That is a deliberate policy setting, and it is the main reason some businesses restructure to employ directly rather than place.
The other reason is the 15% floor. A business that employs its own staff has no domestic workforce ratio to maintain.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is triangular employment accreditation in New Zealand?
Accreditation for a business that employs migrant workers and places them with a controlling third party, while remaining the named employer. It costs NZ$4,060, has no limit on worker numbers, and carries extra requirements on placement history and domestic workforce share.
How much does triangular accreditation cost?
NZ$4,060, against NZ$775 for standard accreditation and NZ$1,280 for high volume. It also renews every 12 months rather than every 24, so the annual cost is substantially higher again.
Do labour hire companies need special accreditation in New Zealand?
Yes, where they place migrant workers with a controlling third party. Triangular employment accreditation is the type designed for that structure, and it applies regardless of how many migrants are involved.
What is the 15% rule for triangular accreditation?
At least 15% of placed staff must be New Zealand citizens or residents guaranteed 30 or more hours a week. It is a continuing requirement, not a one-off test at application, and it replaced a 35% threshold for labour hire construction roles in January 2025.
Who is the "controlling third party"?
The business where the work is actually done and which directs the day-to-day work, while the accredited business remains the legal employer. It is the third corner of the triangle and the reason this accreditation type exists.
Is there a limit on how many migrants a triangular accredited employer can hire?
No. Unlike standard accreditation (up to five) and high volume (six or more), triangular employment accreditation has no cap on numbers. Each role still needs its own approved Job Check.
Can a new labour hire company get triangular accreditation?
Not immediately. Applicants need at least 12 months of history placing staff in New Zealand. It is the only accreditation type with a trading-history requirement of its own.
General information only. This page explains published Immigration New Zealand rules and does not assess whether any business or worker meets them. It is not immigration advice under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007. Fees as published 20 August 2026.
